The master’s of accounting program is only a year old this semester, and it already has tripled in size since its debut at Iowa State.

Since it began in Fall 2000, the program has expanded from six to 19 students.

It is a 32-credit program with 15 credits from accounting courses, said Cynthia Jeffrey, director of the master’s of accounting program. Students choose 15 more credits from a non-accounting electives list, she said, and the remaining two credits are a required creative component.

The non-accounting electives can be used to develop or strengthen a secondary field such as finance, international business, marketing or information systems, said Jeffrey, associate professor of accounting.

To get into the program, a student must first submit an application, which can be done on the accounting Web site, she said. Transcripts, three letters of recommendation and a couple short essays are required. The student must also take the GMAT, graduate management admission test, Jeffrey said.

“It gets you farther into the company,” said Rick Carter, chairman and professor of finance. “Your skill level is so much greater, and you kind of hit the ground running. The way we have it designed, it ups [students’] skill level.”

The idea for the program sprung from the state of Iowa’s decision to make 150 credit hours the standard for a Certified Public Accountant certificate, he said. But Jeffrey said the department always has wanted to have a graduate program.

Students can take the CPA exam when they have a bachelor’s degree in accounting with 124.5 credit hours, she said, although students cannot receive a CPA certificate until they have completed 150 credit hours.

“The state of Iowa won’t give you your certificate till 150 hours are completed,” Jeffrey said.

If students plan ahead, they can start taking master’s classes during the last semester of their bachelor’s program, she said. By doing this, students can complete their master’s degree within two more semesters.

After receiving their master’s degree, students can take the CPA exam to receive a CPA certificate, Jeffrey said.

However, a student doesn’t have to obtain a CPA certificate to get a job. Jeffrey said there are good accounting jobs without a CPA.

“[A bachelor’s degree] is enough to be an accounting professional, but it’s not enough to be a CPA,” she said.

William Dilla, associate professor of accounting, said people without a CPA certificate can work in a public accounting firm as entry-level staff, but they cannot be firm owners or managers. For advancement within an accounting firm, people are expected to earn a CPA certificate, he said.

The program had to be accredited before it could get underway, Carter said, which was the biggest hurdle. The program also needed approval from the department curriculum committee and the college curriculum committee, he said, and it had to go through the ISU Faculty Senate and the Board of Regents.

The program organizers also had to get a letter from each of the other state universities in Iowa saying “yes, it’s OK with us,” Carter said.

After clearing these obstacles, the master’s program developers set goals for themselves, he said.

“We want to get the best prepared students, and we feel this master’s program does this,” Carter said.

Business personnel want to limit the master’s program to 40 people, Jeffrey said.

“If you get too many, the personal delivery isn’t there,” Carter said.

The program is for students and for people with full-time jobs, Jeffrey said.

Classes are available in late afternoon and evening for people with job commitments, she said.

“That was our goal, to make the program available to people with full-time jobs,” Jeffrey said. “I’ve been extremely pleased with the quality of students we have in the program.”